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Singapore – The Merlion

Mention Singapore and one immediately thinks of the Merlion. The lion-fish ensemble has become the mascot of Singapore over the years and says a lot about the city. The fish body represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means “sea town” in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore’s original name — Singapura — meaning “lion city” or “kota singa”.

There are five Merlions in Singapore, that are recognized by the STB (Singapore Tourism Board), they are as follows:

The 8.6-metre-tall original statue at Merlion Park
The two-metre-tall cub statue standing behind the original statue
The 37-metre-tall gigantic replica — with Mouth Gallery Viewing Deck on the ninth storey, another viewing gallery on its head and The Merlion Shop — at Sentosa Island
The three-metre-tall glazed polymarble statue at Tourism Court (near Grange Road) completed in 1995
The three-metre-tall polymarble statue placed on Mount Faber’s Faber Point

For our three-days stay we were unfortunate to not see all the merlion statues. So here are three different views of the giant replica at Sentosa Island. Isn’t she lovely, glowing in purple shade at night?